Fowl Manure Used to Purify Water.

USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS, Commodity Utilization Research Unit, Southern Regional Research Center, 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124; Tel: 504/286-4475, Fax: 504/286- 4419) chemist Isabel Lima has discovered a method for making activated carbons for treating wastewater out of chicken manure, one of the most common and renewable resources on the farm.

The manure is made into pellets and activated by a thermal or thermal/alkali process, rendering it highly porous with a large surface area. Although the results are preliminary, initial tests with copper contaminants suggest the fowl waste-based pellets could remove some metals from wastewater …